The Institute of Intellectual History (and the School of History) at St
Andrews is delighted to advertise THREE postdoctoral positions (for 3 years
from Sept. 2018) to work on the Leverhulme-funded project ‘After the
Enlightenment: Scottish intellectual life, 1790-1843’, which involves the
collaboration of Professors Aileen Fyfe, Colin Kidd, Knud Haakonssen and
Richard Whatmore.

 

Closing Date: 9 May 2018

Further Particulars at: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/4330/0/181225/889/postdoctoral-research-fellow-ar2074as

 

Historians of science, please note that, despite the way the formal advert
is phrased, there are THREE postdocs on offer, and one of those postdocs is
in the HISTORY OF SCIENCE. As the Further Particulars explain:

 

Second strand: Natural Philosophy (directed by Aileen Fyfe): The
postdoctoral fellow for this strand will investigate the public culture of
natural philosophy in early nineteenth-century Scotland. S/he will start by
studying the activities of David Brewster (1781-1868), as a way to explore
how the sciences – and in particular, the physical sciences – were
encountered by audiences outside the elite circles of the universities. As
well as being an inventor (with interests in light, optics and
photography), Brewster undertook substantial editorial and journalistic
work, and was closely involved with a variety of societies connected with
scientific knowledge, ranging from the Royal Society of Edinburgh
(secretary 1819-1828) to the invention-focused Society of Arts (f.1821) and
an Edinburgh precursor to the Mechanics’ Institutes (also 1821).
Examining the full range of Brewster’s activities and interests
(including his writings in the history of science and his evangelical
Christian commitment), will contribute to the wider ‘After
Enlightenment’ project by demonstrating the ongoing links between fields
of study in a period usually known for fragmentation and specialisation.

 

(The other project strands are in moral philosophy, and religion/unbelief.)

 

The generic advert follows (and is on jobs.ac.uk and on the University
vacancy page); interested applicants are welcome to contact me (akf@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Richard
Whatmore to discuss the posts informally.

 

Best wishes,

Aileen Fyfe.

 

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The Leverhulme-funded project ‘After the Enlightenment: Scottish
intellectual life, 1790-1843’ will investigate Scottish intellectual
culture during the crucial period of transition between Enlightenment and
the Victorian period. In light of much new work on the Enlightenment in
Scotland the project seeks to understand how intellectual concerns changed
within the framework provided by the long-lasting legacy of the thinkers,
teachers and institutions of this intellectual culture. Specifically the
project aims at understanding the period after the Enlightenment on its own
terms, avoiding the teleology of seeing it as a passage towards the
Victorian period. We propose to pursue in detail what happened to three of
the main pillars of the Scottish Enlightenment: moral philosophy, natural
philosophy and religion.

The successful candidate should have a doctorate in some aspect of modern
intellectual history (including the history of science), ideally with
expertise in late eighteenth/early nineteenth-century Scottish thought and
must have experience of working with historical manuscript materials. 

Further information on the University, the School of History and the
Institute of Intellectual History can be found at the University
website(www.st-andrews.ac.uk)

To discuss this post informally candidates may wish to contact the Chair of
the Appointing Committee, Professor Richard Whatmore (rw56@st-andrews.ac.uk).

The University is committed to equality for all, demonstrated through being
a Stonewall Diversity Champion and through engagement with key diversity
initiatives (Athena SWAN; Carer Positive; and the LGBT Charter) - more
details on: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/

Please quote reference: AR2074AS